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A FableOnce there was an island. On one part of the island there was a castle. Only about five percent of the people on the island lived in the castle, but they possessed almost half of the island's wealth and used about half of its resources to support their lavish life styles. Other parts of the island were very poor. In fact, the poorest thirty percent of the population owned less than one percent of the island's resources or wealth. Some of the rich castle people were aware of the poor and occasionally sent them some food or blankets, but generally the castle dwellers and especially their king just built walls and armies to be sure the poor didn't break in or steal or harm anyone in the castle. The king said he would try to be on good terms with the people on the rest of the island but his responsibility was to protect those in his castle. The king and his court did keep an eye on the parts of the island that produced food or materials or particularly fuel for the castle and, if necessary, sent out soldiers to protect a source or supply line, and they spied constantly on the islanders to be sure their weapons never became too threatening. Occasionally some of the poor people became so jealous of the rich people in the castle that they would attack or destroy something of the king's. Sometimes a poor person got so desperate that he escaped it all by performing a suicide act to try to get some revenge against the castle which he perceived had oppressed him for so long. Some tried to persuade the king that it was a small island and that the castle couldn't continue to ignore the fact that nearly half the people on it lived in mud huts and slept on dirt floors. The king said those people were not his subjects or his stewardship, and his job was to look out for and protect the interests of the castle. The breach between the rich and poor continued to widen and unrest, enmity, and jealousy continued to grow. The king had a book of scripture in which he believed and as he read in it one night he came to a passage that said, "repair the breach." he began to think perhaps as the leader of the castle he had a responsibility to the whole island, to all the people on it, and not just those within his walls. Perhaps everyone on the island was of equal worth. Perhaps life could be made better for all by helping the poorest of the poor. Perhaps the breach was the real enemy. |
